Rotary engine



(Noldel.)

2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

KPETERS. PHoruuTHOGRAbMEn. wArsmMutoN, n4 C.

(No Model.) I 2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

' A. N 0 T E M A N Rotary Engine.

Nc. 238,802. l Patented March 15,1881. Figi. a"

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ALONZO NOTEMAN, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.l

ROTARY, 'EN`GINE.

sPEcIFIcATIoNfOming part of Letters Patent No. aesoauated March 15,1881;

l Application'led September 11, 1880. (No model.)

.Tojallwhom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ALoNzo NOTEMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing atlToledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio,

`reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters orfigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

The object of this invention is to so construct the several parts ofalrotary engine that thereshall benot only no loss of power, but thatthere shall` be an increased power by the utilization of the entireforce of the steam.

It consists in the construction and arrangement of the= several parts,as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical section on the line w a', Fig.2, and Fig. 2 is a ver- -tical section on the line y y, Fig. l. Figs. 3and 4 show one ot' the end plates of thecase, having the bearingsrecessed to receive a bronze or other suitable metal sleeve, which maybe taken `out when worn and replaced by a new one. Fig. 5 is a diagramillustrating the manner ofwforming the steam -cylinder. Fig.6 shows sideand edge views of the blade. Fig. 7 shows the split packing-rings whichare pnt in the grooves in the disks orrotatin g heads of the piston.Fig. 8 shows a side and au end view offone-halfot' the piston. F ig.,9shows an inside face and a cross-section ofone ofthe rotatingpiston-heads.4 Fig. 10 shows the outside Aface ot' one of `the rotatingpiston-heads, and Fig.ll shows the piston complete.

A is a casing, within which is contained the cylinderc. Theendsof thecylinderareclosed by the plates a a', which are provided with enlargedbearings, in which are putthe removable `bronze or other suitable metal-bearing rings or sleeves, a2 a2. The headplates c a are so formedandattached to the flanges a3 c3 thatannular chambers r4d4 are formedbetween their rims and the body ot`- the cylinder.

Below and connecting withthe cylinder by the port a5 is theexhaust-chamber b, which is provided with the exhaust-ports b2 b2. rlheexhaust-chamber b is closed 'below by the-plate b', which forms lthebase on which the engine rests, and which provides the necessaryfacilities for securing the casing to the wood or other -su p portin gframe-work. y

c6 is a steam-inlet port connecting the pistonchamber with the chamberc, formed in the small valve-casing c', mounted on the main casw ing A.Within the chamber c is placed the cut-oftl valve el, which is seatedover the end of the port a,6 and operated by shaft aF.

e is the steam-chest formed within the main casing A. It is formed andarranged to open, by the port e', into the chamber c in the valvecasingc', and it extends through the side stem, e2, Which is connected withthe steam-snpply mechanism which connects the engine with the boiler.The steam-chest c is arrangedl to extend downward from `the upper port,e', parallel with the port a6, there being but a single wall orpartition between it and said port c6. This arrangement brings the chestwithin the compass of the casingA,and gives a compactness in structurenot attained in ordinary engines. The stem e2 projects -froln a pointlo\v down on the casing, and thus provides an arrangement whereby thegovernor and other regulating mechanism can be placed in closejuxtaposition to the cylinder. This arrangement of steam-chest preventswire-drawing the steam through the steam-pipes by always having a supplyof steam at hand tol-lill the cylinder. The parts, lying in such compactform, are not liable to be affected by cold-air currents, as when theyare separated.

f is the revolving piston, composed of the equal and correspondinghalves or sections f' f', which are secured to the rotary heads g g,which are xed to the revolving shafts It It. The shafts `It h arejonrnaled in the head-plate a of the cylinder a, as shown in Fig. 2.`The sections f f are slightly separated, so as to provide the channelf2 between them, through which the bladehereinafter described plays backand forth.

are beveled, lso as to form cup-shaped recesses or seats f3, in whichthe saddles orpnckingsegments of the blade are received,"as hereinafterexplained. On the endsof the segments f there are formed tenonsf4,"which iitinto mortises g in the rotary heads g and make a irm closejoint. The segments are also pro- The outer edges of` sections IOO videdwith short central mortises, f5,in which are put packing-pads f5, whichsnugly pack the blade as it moves to and fro in the channel f2. Therotary heads g have the circular rabbets g2 cut around the rims, intowhich are put the split packin g-rin gs When the piston, with its rotaryheads, is put in place in the cylinder, the packing-rings fill in theangle v formed by the side of the cylinder, the inner cylinder a, Fig,l.

surface of the tlange a7 of the head-plate a', and the rim of the rotaryheads g, as shown in Fig. 2. The packing-ring thus has a double bearing,and prevents the escape of steam outward between the cylinder and endplate, and also around the endof the rotary head. The rin g fi, beingheld thus unconfined or loosely on the rim of the rotary head, has agreater degree of adaptability or adjustment, and will make a betterpacking and be more durable than were it held rigidly in a channel inthe rotary head, or in the cylinder, and packed outward in one directiononly. rIhe rotary heads g have the cross-grooves g3, which coincide withthe channels f2 and receive the edges of the sliding blade.

k is the blade which slides to and fro in the channel f2 in therevolving piston j'. Its edges itsnugly into the channels g3. On itsopposite ends are formed the dovctail tenons k', onto which is slipped aknuckle, m, having a corresponding dovetail mortise. The knuckle m ismade round, as shown. n is a packing saddle or segment, which has around channel or mortise cut in its underor inner side, which is adaptedto slip over the knuckle m. When slipped onto the knuckle, as shown inFig. 6, it will have a rotating movement thereon, whichpermits it toadapt itself automatically to the different positions which the bladeassumes in the rotation of the piston. The blade, the knuckle, and thesaddle being made in separate pieces enables me to replace any part,when worn or broken, without replacing all.

The saddle n lis bifurcated, so as to provide two arms or bearing-heads,a2 a2, separated by an intermediate chamber or depression, a'. In thisconstruction of the saddle I secure, substantially and in effect, anextended bearing-surface with very slight frictional contact. Theseblades move easier, have a more perfect adjustment, and make a moreperfect adjustment than is attained by blades of ordinary construction.

I have constructed my cylinder on some geometrical principles, which Iwill now eX.- plain. These principles have been shown in enginesheretofore patented, but have not been so accurately adapted as I havethem.

In Fi g. 5 I have drawn a geometrical gure which illustrates myinvention. By comparison it will be seen that this figure correspondstothe contour of the chamber o in the In Fig. 5 I have drawn the outlineo', which corresponds to the contour of thelcylinder, and within theoutline o', I have drawn,in dotted lines, the circle o2, whichrepresents the position of the piston j and its l give lateral motion tothe blade.

relative position to the cylinder. The piston is seated in one side ofthe cylinder, its seat having 'the same curvature as its periphery. At l1, I have marked the point where the line or contour o diverges from thecircumference of the circle o2. From the points 1 1 lines are drawnthrough the center o3 of the circle 02, and are extended and intersectthe contour o The segment between l and l and between 2 and 2 aresegments of concentric circles. From the points l andl the contour o isdrawn tangent to the circle o2, which tangents are extended to points 33, from which, iflines be drawn through the center o3 and extended tointersect the contour at 4 4, the said lines 3 4 and 3 4 will be of samelength with lines 12 and l 2. rIhe curved lines 3 2 and 3 2, whichconnect the ends ofthe straight lines or tangents l 3 with the ends ofthe segment 2 2,

are gradually increasing or avoid curves from the points 3 to 2.

It will be seen that the chamber o in the cylinder a, Fig. 1, has thesame form or contour as the geometric figure o in Fig. 5. The lines l 2and 3 4 represent the blade k. The ports a6 and a5 are located at thetermini of the tangent bearings l 3,1 3. The ovoid bearing-surfaces from3 to 2 are the cams which They gradually increase in curvature from theends of the tangent bearings till they unite in the concentric curve 22, or, reversely, they diminish gradually in curvature till they joinwith the tangents.

The piston revolves in the direction indicated by the arrows, Figs. land 5. I he object of this peculiar form for the chamber o is to give anicety and perfection of movement to the piston and its blade as theyrevolve, so that there shall be no back-pres-sure nor loss of force ormotion, and whereby the amount ot' friction shall be reduced to theleast possilole minimum, and wherein the entire action of the parts andthe escape of the steam shall be noiseless. The saddle or blade-head aon one end of the blade, when it clears the circle 1 1 in contact withthe piston, is forced out on the stra-ight line or tangent by the actionof the opposite ovoid cam, 2 3, acting on the saddle on the other end ofsaid blade. The tangent bearing permits the saddle to slide noiselesslypast the inlet-port a6. The diminishing of the opposite ovoidcam-surface, 2 3, causes the saddle to move with steadiness andregularity, and without noise. The saddle on the opposite end of theblade slides as noiselessly past the exit-port a5, for reasons similarto those indicated above.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a rotary engine, a removable knuckle or interposed retaining-barplaced on the end of the blade, and adapted lto carry the oscillatingsaddle, so that the latter will readily adjustitself in the revolutionsof the piston, substantially as set forth.

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2. In a rotary engine, a blade having its ends provided with dovetailtenons, a removable knuckle having a dovetail mortise, which slides overthe tenon on the blade, and the re- 5 movable saddle, which slides ontoand has an oscillating movement thereon, substantiall y as set forth. i

3. In a rotary engine, the combination, with the cylinder a and thehead-plates a', conro structed and secured to the cylinder a so as toprovide circular chambers a4, ofthe piston-head plates g, provided withthe rabbets g2 on the inner edges of their rims, and the packingrings i,placed in the rabbets g2, and bearing against the body of the cylinderand against 15 the inner surface of iange in the outer rim of the endplates, a', substantially as setforth.

In testimony whereof I a'ix my signature in presence of two witnesses. i

ALONZO OTE MAN.

Witnesses:

DUDLEY E. SALTONSTALL, J OEL M. GLoYD.

